OTT voice providers are expected to see an increase in their service revenues by 2020, reaching over $10 billion, representing a fivefold increase over the next 5 years.ETTelecom | September 29, 2015, 17:51 IST

In a major dampener for consumers, the government panel report on net neutrality calls for VoIP services like Skype, Viber, and WhatsApp to be licenced in the same way as mobile operators are.NEW DELHI: Over the Top (OTT) application providers such as Skype and WhatsApp would experience a significant rise in traffic and revenue potential as 4G network rollouts accelerate, thereby increasing their capability to offer high-quality VoIP (Voice over IP) calls, according to a new study from Juniper Research.

The study also said that OTT voice providers are expected to see an increase in their service revenues by 2020, reaching over $10 billion, representing a fivefold increase over the next 5 years.

The research also observed that with traditional operators’ voice revenues in sharp decline as a result of OTT voice activity, a number of operators have adopted new business models mimicking those of OTT players. These include directly offering functionality such as VoLTE (Voice over LTE) and Wi-Fi calling through the handset.

The research also said that white label OTT services, such as the fring alliance, are becoming increasingly important in helping operators compete with the OTT business model. However, it cautioned that such initiatives historically had mixed results, with both Telefonica’s TuMe and O2’s TuGo service having been discontinued.

The study said that VoLTE will see widespread adoption among MNOs, with operator billed VoLTE revenues approaching $100 billion by 2020, representing 12% of the global operator billed service revenue including voice and data services.

The Juniper study found that as most mVoIP services were offered as a free or low cost service, only a small minority of OTT players had generated significant revenues from the service.

Instead, it argued that the more successful service providers had developed indirect or adjacent revenues on the back of the core voice offerings, with a number offering in-app purchases or – as with Daum Kakao – a social networking platform.

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